Reprise: Everyone -- Stop Playing Bingo and Get into the Gym!

Here's another article that demonstrates the benefits of weight training ... this time for everyone!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/well/move/even-a-little-weight-training-may-cut-the-risk-of-heart-attack-and-stroke.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_hh_20181205&nl=well&nl_art=3&nlid=67594383emc%3Dedit_hh_20181205&ref=headline&te=1

Here are a few quotes from the article ...

The findings were dramatic: The risk of experiencing these events (stroke & heart attacks) was roughly 50 percent lower for those who lifted weights occasionally, compared with those who never did — even when they were not doing the recommended endurance exercise. People who lifted twice a week, for about an hour or so in total, had the greatest declines in risk.

As an associational study, the results show only that people who occasionally lift weights happen to have healthier hearts ...

Seniors: Stop Playing Bingo and Get into the Gym!

I've included an article from the New York Times that's not only worth reading, but passing around no matter what their age, but especially to those who are 50 years old and older. Here's the bottomline: resistance/strength training using weights and/or bands may be the key to staying out of (or at least postponing as long as possible a stay in) a nursing home when you grow older.

A relative of mine told me that once he reached 80 years old that was when he felt himself truly growing old: loosing his strength and stamina. I had always assume that 80 was a point in life when the body reached a point where no matter what you did, everything would decline ending in death. 

Well ... that may not necessarily be the case. My relative never engaged in any resistance training ... at all, ever. Certainly not when I knew him. He was active, but never when into a gym to lift weights or engage in any resistance training. Turned out that was a significant mistake. 

Here's the link to the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/03/well/live/preventing-muscle-loss-among-the-elderly.html

Here's an interesting quotes from the article:

...  many people past 50, have a condition called sarcopenia (my emphasis) — a decline in skeletal muscle with age. It begins as early as age 40 and, without intervention, gets increasingly worse, with as much as half of muscle mass lost by age 70. (If you’re wondering, it’s replaced by fat and fibrous tissue, making muscles resemble a well-marbled steak.)

“Sarcopenia can be considered for muscle what osteoporosis is to bone,” Dr. John E. Morley, geriatrician at Saint Louis University School of Medicine ... he pointed out that up to 13 percent of people in their 60s and as many as half of those in their 80s have sarcopenia.

But — and this is a critically important “but” — no matter how old or out of shape you are, you can restore much of the strength you already lost. 

So, what are you waiting for? If you’re currently sedentary or have a serious chronic illness, check first with your doctor. But as soon as you get the go-ahead, start a strength-training program using free weights, resistance bands or machines, preferably after taking a few lessons from a physical therapist or certified trainer.

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And by the way, you'll need to increase your protein intake as well. Read the article. I think you'll find it to be of value and something to place in your personal archive.